Crossword
by thebirdgod
Summary: The Majestics have house guests, while Robert and Johnny try to sort out their feelings for each other, and Ian with the help of Enrique and Oliver plays matchmaker for the other teams involved. This story contains yaoi guyxguy . Rated M to be safe.
1. 33 Across

"Crossword" by thebirdgod

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or the characters contained within Beyblade. Also, most crossword questions came from the Courier Journal, a newspaper in Kentucky.

Pairings: JohnnyxRobert, MiguelxKai, TalaxClaude, SpencerxBryan

Notes: I've probably made up words, 'jeaned' being one of them, so fair warning to you. Comments are very welcome, flames are less welcome, but as I have no way of stopping you, I really won't try. Probably some OOC throughout the story, but I figure I should use some creative license and go with it. Hope you enjoy! :) thebirdgod

Chapter 1

33 Across

Music drifted through the ancient castle, echoing off river rock floors and wool tapestries that graced the walls of long corridors, telling of history long since past. At the end of one such corridor, was large oak door, opened just slightly; and it was from that room that the music was wafting out into the halls.

A quick glance into the room would a lot you with the view of a gorgeous, garnet-eyed German whom was stretched languidly across a plush couch, a book held delicately in his lithe hands. Pink-tinged lips mouthed the words to the songs, his eyes dancing across the words printed on the yellow stained pages. Deftly, he flicked a lock of amethyst hair out his face before picking back up on the page.

Distantly at the end of the hall, he could hear the heavy booted footsteps of his best friend, and idly he marked his page, awaiting the appearance of the Lord of this particular castle. He didn't have to wait long, for soon a taller man walked in, his crimson hair pulled back by a lavender bandana. The German took a moment to let his eyes roam over his friend's visage. The redhead before him stood at six feet tall, with dazzling violet eyes, that paired strangely well with the vibrant, shoulder length hair he kept held back. Broad shoulders led down over a muscled, well defined torso, to slim hips hidden by a loose pair of torn up jeans. An eyebrow arched slightly, its ring piercing moving as well, which only led the German's eyes back to the two gauges in the redhead's left ear, then the two on the right, with another smaller ring now through the cartilage at the top of the ear. A stud gleamed from the taller man's right nostril, and led lastly to the two symmetrical rings mirroring one another on a perfect bottom lip.

"What?" the thickly accented voice suddenly asked.

The German cleared his thoughts quickly, pulling up an excuse from the back of his mind to cover up the fact he was checking out his best friend. "I can't tell if you have a new one or not."

The redhead tugged gently on the ring in his upper ear, "This one's new, I got one other one, too, but I'll show you it later, it's still kind of sore…" the Scot trailed off, his attention returning to the paper in his hand.

The heliotrope haired man prayed that the other piercing was not where he thought it was.

"I actually need your help," the Scot began, interrupting the German's lude thoughts, "This crossword is being stubborn."

So the German sat up, placing his book on the coffee table before him. He waited patiently for the Scot to take a seat at the left corner of the couch; his favorite spot. How silly it was that the German naturally moved to give him the favored position without thinking. "Which one?" the purple haired man asked as his friend plopped unceremoniously down next to him.

"Who was David Copperfield's second wife?" Violet eyes moved to look curiously back into garnet.

"Agnes." The reply was rapid and steady, the German leaning close to his friend, pretending to be looking at the defaced paper, though he was secretly marveling at the warmth that radiated off of the Scotsman's hard body.

The taller of the two opened his mouth to ask the next question, when the doorbell rang loudly through the castle halls. He bit down hard to keep from growling at the inopportune timing. He handed the paper rather abruptly to his crimson eyed friend, saying, "Number 33 across has me stumped, I should know it though, and you're probably going to make me feel stupid when you give me the answer."

The German smiled fondly at the redhead's back as he began to exit the library, calling back over his shoulder, "I'll be right back." His eyes followed the muscled back as it left the room, and with some effort drug his gaze back down to the paper at hand. "33: God of whom Wednesday was named…."

*~*

The redhead stormed past his blond friend, causing the Italian heartthrob to jump at the unmistakable irritation rolling off the fiery Scotsman. Enrique ran a hand through his unruly hair before following, hoping whoever Oliver had let in was there for a good reason, or else they may be throwing bodies over the Cliffside…

He came to an abrupt halt next to Johnny, as the pair stared into the living room with a mix of surprise and intense confusion; and a little more than just annoyance from the redhead. For before them, sitting on the large beige sectional were none other than the Blitzkrieg Boy, Kai included, and the Battalion. Relaxing at one end was Bryan, who was comfortably placed in his boyfriend, Spencer's lap, a lazy smirk crossing his lips as he caught the Scot's look of displeasure. Next to them was Kai, followed by Miguel, Claude, Aaron and Mathilda. Tala stood off to the side lecturing Ian about appropriate behavior while visiting the Majestics.

While Oliver chatted delightedly with Kai, Johnny swore in Gaelic under his breath.

Enrique looked to his twitching friend, and chose the appropriate course of action, valuing the life of his bubbly lover, and his own. "Why don't you go snag Robbie, and I'll play the gracious host?" he offered, before walking in to greet their surprise visitors. He wrapped an arm around the emerald haired man's waist, joining him in conversation.

Johnny stood fixed to the spot a moment longer, part of him wondering why he felt so envious of his two friends. Perhaps it was because they had found true love, and all the Scot had was unrequited.

Vaguely he heard footsteps jogging up behind him, the clear, stunning voice of the German clearing the fog from Johnny's mind. He turned his periwinkle gaze to meet that of his friend's garnet.

"33 was Woden, a Norse god. It took me longer than I thought," the man stated, a blush marring porcelain features.

Johnny found himself smiling down at his friend, enjoying the dusting of pink, and the way the German pouted his satin looking lips.

"Robert! Come in here and see who came to visit!" Oliver called out from the living room, ripping the German away from those stunning violet eyes.

"And bring that sulking Scot with you!"

Growling low, Johnny led them into the living room, where Robert gave warm smiles and heart felt greetings to the two teams. The amethyst haired man caught sight of Johnny flopping down onto the chase lounge near where Bryan and Spencer sat snuggled together. Uncharacteristically, the Scot made room for Robert to come sit down.

And the German did so, not wanting to miss a chance at being so close to that delicious heat the overly attractive highlander produced. He settled himself down politely, amused when one of the booted feet found itself across his jeaned lap. Robert crossed his hands over the boot, and continued to speak, "So to what do we owe the pleasure of your company today, gentlemen, my lady?"

'Always polite,' Johnny thought to himself absentmindedly, tugging at the piercings in his left ear, 'though it is rather endearing they way Robert plays the part of host so well in my home.' Confused briefly, he mused, 'Has it always been this way? Has Robert always fit so well into my life?'

"Well, the tour has us cutting through Scotland before we begin heading South through Europe," Kai replied softly, "From here we will be heading to France, then to Spain, Italy, Germany and then Russia, where the tour shall end officially."

'I don't think I ever remember Kai being so shy or so soft spoken,' Johnny pondered, 'and is he casting glances at Miguel?' Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he listened into the conversation, watching the blond Spaniard as he began talking.

"I've procured my family's sailboat so that we can sail from Spain to Italy. Nothing is more relaxing than the sound of waves lapping at the sides of the boat," Miguel trailed off, his eyes dancing with some sort of nostalgia.

Mathilda smiled, and playful punched Miguel in the arm, "You're obsessed," she said, watching as her captain rubbed his arm, "but it will be nice to sail under the starry sky."

"Ah, amore!" Oliver exclaimed, grabbing Enrique suddenly, letting the Italian spin him into a waltz, "How romantic!"

The German coughed into his hand, bringing the attention of their guests back to the conversation at hand, and away from the dancing lovebirds as the pair whispered words of love in French and Italian to one another.

"I must insist that upon reaching Germany you stay at my castle."

"We wouldn't want to impose," Miguel began, receiving another whack in the arm by Mathilda. Johnny wondered if she was secretly abusive to the other members of her team.

"Nonsense, you will stay with me in Germany."

Johnny smirked to himself, letting his eyes run over the angular features of his friend's face. He knew the lithe man would not budge in his decision, and the argument had already been closed, whether the other teams liked it or not. 'I imagine since Robert's offering ups his home to this rough bunch, I should do the same,' and while the Scot was not overly thrilled with this self-admittance, he was quite pleased with the thought that it would earn him Robert's favor.

"How long will you all be here in Scotland?" the accented voice asked, a hand moving to scratch his chest through his shirt.

"Our exhibition match is tomorrow night, the day after we're supposed to spend the morning sight seeing, then boarding the flight to France that afternoon." Kai responded politely. The Russian/Japanese man had a feeling he knew where this was going.

"I'll go make up some rooms then," the Scot said resolutely, carefully removing himself from behind Robert, and ultimately up off of the chase lounge. He missed the slight frown that crossed his German companions mouth.

"Don't argue," Enrique replied as soon as the Scot was well out of ear shot, "Johnny's been moody lately."

"It's what happens when he gets left here in the castle," Oliver supplied to the confused guests. Suddenly, the Frenchman cried out, "My heart, I have a wonderful idea!"

"Ah tell me, my love," Enrique replied, pulling his lover to him.

"We'll invite them to my home in France! We can have a pool party!"

"Brilliant, my beautiful buttercup!" The blond exclaimed, dipping him low for a kiss.

"What do you all think?" Robert inquired of the two teams, doing his best to ignore the heated make out session going on before him.

Kai looked to his Russian teammates, mostly to their captain, Tala, and when he shrugged (partly due to Ian's insistent begging) the dual colored haired man state, "We're in."

"So are we," Miguel replied with a charming smile, his aqua eyes briefly wandering to catch Kai's.

*~*

Days passed quickly at McGregor Castle, the first day consisting mainly of placing the guests into their respective rooms, and everyone settling down to dinner, with surprisingly no incidents, much to the McGregor heir's delight.

The exhibition match had taken up the second day with training, and that night with the exhibition itself, but it too had run smoothly, and by the morning of the third day the two teams had bonded rather well with one another, and with their Majestic hosts as well.

Crushes between teams had been dually noted, and three very mischievous males snuck quietly down to Johnny's wine cellar, whispering their devious plots to one another as they hid behind a couple of barrels.

The first pair to be bombarded with matchmaking schemes was to be Tala and Claude, and it was to be done on the flight to France. Enrique of course, would be flying the jet, and at the right moment would simply tilt the plane to get the two men to fall into the bathroom. The only problem was finding a way to get them both into the small hallway at the same time.

"Oh, don't worry, I have a plan." Ian stated, "The others will have to wait until we arrive in France, because Kai and Tala watch me like a hawk."

"With Tala absorbed in Claude, assuming all goes well, getting Kai and Miguel together will be a synch. It's Robert and Johnny we'll have to work hardest for."

Nodding to each other, they slowly and methodically began to plot out how to get Tala and Claude into that fated bathroom.

*~*

Well that's the end of the first chapter! Tell me what you think :) I'm a sap for anything involving Robert Jurgen (as you will see with some of my other fics). Hope you liked it!


	2. 21 Down

"Crossword" by thebirdgod

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or the characters contained within Beyblade. Also, most crossword questions came from the Courier Journal, a newspaper in Kentucky.

Pairings: JohnnyxRobert, MiguelxKai, TalaxClaude, SpencerxBryan

Notes: Here is the second chapter in the story, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did when I wrote it. Again comments are welcome, but I'll be honest when I say I don't care for flames. thebirdgod

Chapter 2

21 Down

It was a rainy Thursday morning when the three teams stepped into the airport. Enrique, Oliver and oddly enough Robert, had left very early to prepare the jet, leaving their fiery Scotsman to rally up the Blitzkrieg Boys and the Battalion. He'd had a fair amount of trouble, who knew Kai was such a heavy sleeper?

Johnny knew exactly which terminal to head to; Enrique always used the same one every time he visited; and so the Scot herded the group in that direction, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder. His mind wandered as he led them through the airport, thinking about the most peculiar disappearance of Robert. The German never went with Enrique to prepare the jet; it just wasn't something the amethyst haired man was good at, and he'd be the first to admit it.

The Scot stopped the group at some seats near a large glass window, where he could get a good view of the jet as it slowly pulled up to the terminal's loading dock. Frowning slightly, he really wondered why Robert was with them.

*~*

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Robert, you wouldn't want a certain someone finding out you have a particularly strong crush on him would you?"

"Are you blackmailing me?"

"Yes, yes I am, now put it on Robert. Oliver's wearing it and he's not complaining."

"That's because you dress him up all the time," grumbled the German, looking at the ridiculous outfit in his hands. 'I can't believe he's going to see me in this.' With a deep sigh, Robert found himself slipping on pristine white pantyhose, a tight navy blue pencil skirt, black heels, a button up white dress shirt, tie, and a navy blue jacket with half sleeves. He looked at himself in the jet's bathroom mirror, idly thinking he didn't look too bad. His legs looked stunning at least, and the little hat on his head did look kind of cute. He would not, however, be forgetting Enrique's blackmailing.

Gritting his teeth, the German stepped out of the bathroom and moved to take his place at the front of the jet to greet the travelers.

*~*

The teams followed Johnny down the carpeted tunnel towards the jet, and Kai could almost tell something was up, and that was before he heard voices drifting up from the jet end of the tunnel.

"…Awe, come on Robbie, you look great!"

"Can it, you back stabbing piece of Italian garbage."

"He doesn't mean that sweetie, he's just having a bad morning."

And that's when they came up on the entrance, and Johnny's frozen form. His eyes were too busy trailing up those stocking covered calves to the form fitting skirt.

Putting on a surprisingly delightful smile, Robert began greeting them, as their hostess. He first led Johnny to his seat, putting his bag in the overhead bin, whispering something deadly in German. Not that the Scot cared about the threat, his eyes were glued to his friend's ass and the way the pencil skirt hugged it as he moved about seating the other teams.

Robert, after situating them all in their seats, stood before them at the front of plane, demonstrating seatbelt safety and how to work the overhead lights and such. The jet was luxurious, with spacious leather seats with built in LCD televisions on the back of the headrests. The German made sure to point out the various controls for said televisions, and where to find headphones, before he too took a seat back next to Johnny, letting Enrique and Oliver pilot the plane out of the airport.

"Do I want to know how they got you in to this?" Johnny asked, his gaze on the newspaper in his lap; it was the only way he could keep from ogling his best friend's legs as they crossed themselves appropriately.

"I was blackmailed, which is why I think you should help me throw Oliver out of the plane."

"But it's a lovely outfit."

"This is not funny."

"I agree with you. It's not funny, it's damn sexy. Now help me with this question. One of the Karamzovs? I never read the book."

"Hmm. How many letters?"

"Four."

"Ivan, then."

Johnny scribbled the answer down, flicking the pen between his fingers as he continued to eye his crossword puzzle.

The seatbelt light dinged off, and Robert unclipped his, hearing the telltale hollering of Ian and his demands to use the bathroom. He stood up, brushing off his skirt before moving to step out of the aisle.

"One more real quick," Johnny requested, "Kind of identity. Six letters, third letter is an 'x'."

Robert thought for a moment, his eyes lingering on the chiseled features of his friend's face. "Sexual." He responded before moving off to go get drink orders from the passengers.

Back up front Oliver has already begun taking drink orders, and shoes away the sulking German, asking him to go sit with Enrique so the Italian could apologize for the get up the amethyst haired man was in. So Robert did just that, and strapped himself into the co-pilot seat.

"I'm sorry Robbie, I shouldn't blackmail you. It's just that from the look on Johnny's face seeing you in that, there's no way he couldn't like you. His attraction was so obvious it hurt."

"Wonderful, the only thing Johnny is attracted to is my body. Thanks Enrique, I feel so much better," the German said sarcastically, crossing his arms.

"Oh please, Johnny asks you all the crossword questions, even when he knows Oliver and I know them. He totally prefers you over us."

"Or perhaps he's the smart one and knows that you'll go so far as to blackmail your friends into playing out your sick, twisted fantasies."

*~*Meanwhile*~*

"Claude, do you think you could help me for a moment, Robert's up front and I can't carry all these drinks by myself."

"Sure," Claude replied, following Oliver to the back of the plane, where the hostess station was housed across from the bathroom. The silver haired man was slightly surprised to see Tala standing outside of the bathroom door with an annoyed look on his face.

Seeing Claude's inquisitive glance, Tala felt the need to explain himself to the gorgeous man before him. "Ian refused to use the bathroom unless I guarded the door. Doesn't wanna get locked in I guess."

Claude smiled warmly at him, and turned to find Oliver had disappeared. Just as the Battalion member began to look around, Ian made his abrupt emergence from the bathroom, slipping out and to the side, pretending to investigate the drinks before him.

"Oh, now where did Oliver go?"

"I didn't see him leave."

All of a sudden the plane tilted hard right, and Tala went crashing into the bathroom with Claude, the door banging shut behind them. Ian could be heard snickering from the outside as he barred the door, the plane slowly straightening back out.

"I think we've just be had."

*~*

"God damn it Enrique what was that for!" Exclaimed Robert loudly from his position sprawled across Johnny. He had headed back to his seat when the plane tilted and sent him flying. He would've slammed his head into the window had Johnny not caught him.

Their current position was awkward, but Robert didn't mind so much because he could smell the intoxicating scent of the Scot he was laying on top of. The redhead's heat was soothing his frayed nerves, and he felt himself sinking into the embrace.

"You alright?" Johnny asked, helping Robert slowly sit up. The skirt slipped up and showed off the silky white garter that was attached to those pristine stockings. Afraid he'd be caught starring (or something far worse, as his pants tightened) Johnny pulled the skirt back down over satin thighs, his knuckles brushing against the stockings, causing a light blush to creep its way onto the German's cheeks.

"I'm fine, thank you for catching me."

"Not a problem. Maybe you should buckle up. No more moving for you if Enrique's gonna fly blindfolded today."

A cry of alarm was heard from Mathilda, "He flies blindfolded?!"

"It was a joke," Johnny called back, looking a little sheepish as he glanced into garnet eyes. "Kind of…"

"No he's not blindfolded, just being an ass," Robert replied, situating himself down into the leather seat. "Where'd Claude and Tala get to, anyway?"

"I haven't the slightest idea. Crossword puzzle has my attention."

*~*With Claude and Tala*~*

"You know, for such a nice jet, the bathroom is awfully small," Tala commented, his back pressed against one wall of the bathroom, his eyes connected with Claude's, who was pressed against the opposing wall. Their legs were entangled together, and it was taking a lot of Tala's will power not to press up against him.

"It's so you can have more room for the seats. Typically jets like this don't do such long distances that the bathroom is heavily frequented."

"Yeah, I guess your right…" Tala mused, before asking; "You realize we probably won't get out of here until we approach the next airport right?"

"I am well aware of the fact, yes," Claude replied, blushing slightly as he tried to avert his gaze anywhere but from the handsome man before him.

Tala had to take a calming breath; the smaller man was really too delicious for his own good. And that delightful blush crossing his cheeks was just tempting the redhead to move closer. Against all better judgment, Tala did just that, his hands falling against the wall next to dazzling silver hair; his larger body pressing lightly against Claude's as he dipped his head down to catch a pair of rose tinted lips in a cautious kiss.

When it dawned on Claude that Tala, the _Tala_ was kissing him, he almost couldn't believe it; almost because he could feel the velvet tongue glide over his bottom lip, felt his own lips open in response. His arms moved of their own accord to wrap around the muscled neck above him, his fingers winding their way through fiery red locks as Claude tugged Tala closer, letting him pin him harder against the wall.

Outside, Ian heard a 'thunk' and the muffled sounds of harsh breathing, and he knew his plan had worked; so quietly, so very quietly, he unbarred the door and returned to his seat, not knowing that his captain had heard him.

Releasing Claude's lips, Tala whispered into the shell of his ear, "The door's unbarred now, but if you don't mind, I'd like to stay here just a few more minutes…"

The shorter of the pair nodded, his breath ghosting against Tala's neck before a delicate hand moved to catch the Russian's chin, pulling him into another searing kiss.


	3. 59 Across

"Crossword" by thebirdgod

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or the characters contained within Beyblade. Also, most crossword questions came from the Courier Journal, a newspaper in Kentucky.

Pairings: JohnnyxRobert, MiguelxKai, TalaxClaude, SpencerxBryan

Notes: This is the third chapter to "Crossword". As before, love comments, not so much love going on for flames, and there is a chance that I won't read flames, because I'm busy. Which is why I feel the need to say that the next chapter of this story may be a little while in coming, because between school and work, it's hard to find time for good quality writing. Just hang in there with me and I'll do my best to keep up!

I'd also like to thank CaSinfonikerchen for the lovely review, and for everyone else who has taken the time to read the story. I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations!

thebirdgod

Chapter 3 59 Across

Halfway through the flight, Tala had eventually, and with much reluctance, returned from the bathroom with Claude, both sporting very interesting hickies along their necks, though Tala's were harder to see underneath the collar of his orange and white jumpsuit. Despite that, they decided to sit next to each other, quietly whispering to one another about future events.

In the meantime, Robert had retrieved a second round of drinks for the passengers, and smiling despite the circumstances. Kai even gave him a quiet compliment, which the German thanked him for, genuinely. He felt like such a freak in this get up, and it upset him to no end that Enrique would make him wear such a thing, to go so far as to blackmail him even! 'At least,' Robert thought as he headed back to his seat to buckle in for descent, 'at least Johnny seemed to like it. He didn't sound too much like he was joking.' The German blushed for a moment before shaking himself out of his reverie, and lowered his lithe frame into the cushioned seat next to a now dozing McGregor.

Gently, Robert leaned over his sleeping friend, being careful to buckle him in as well without waking him. Johnny looked serene in his sleep, the way his chin rested on a scarred fist, head tilted slightly to the side. 'He looks so peaceful,' Robert mused to himself as he leaned back, 'I'll loathe waking him up in a few minutes.'

*~*

As soon as the plane landed, the German had bolted towards the bathroom, after receiving his previous clothes from their captor, a green headed Frenchman who was going to get it for sure tonight, for going along with his lover's devious plan.

He returned to the group in a pair of washed, dark jeans and a form fitting, white polo with the brands emblem on the left breast of its cotton material. He looked very posh, in Johnny's opinion, who had stayed behind, Robert's duffel in hand along with his own.

"Glad to be out of your hostess get up?"

"Did I look that bad?" Robert asked, surprised, though he couldn't ascern whether it was from the statement, or the fact that Johnny was being polite enough to continue carrying the German's bag as they began exiting the plane, leaving Enrique to park it in a nearby hangar.

The Scot chuckled, "No, no, you looked very good. I dare say even delicious in the hostess outfit," the redhead cast him a curious glance, "it just seemed like you were really uncomfortable, even with the 'I-am-Robert-Jurgen-not-even-a-dress-can-prevent-my-manliness' attitude."

Robert ran a hand through his hair, now hanging undaunted from his head now that the hat and pins had been removed. It fell in soft, wavy portions around his head as he returned the glance, making eye contact with the handsome man before him, "I do not fancy being humiliated in front of our not so close friends."

Johnny shrugged in response, shifting his bag on his shoulder a bit out of anxiousness. For a while, they walked in a comfortable silence as they headed out to meet their friends, and the awaiting limo outside.

The Scot wasn't really sure why his best friend was so uncomfortable with the hostess costume, or why he even felt he had been humiliated. Robert had looked good, sinfully so, and everyone on the plane would admit it; so why all the drama.

'Probably has something to do with his psychotic mother,' the redhead grumbled inwardly to himself. He was not a big fan of Jessica, though he typically didn't have to deal with her much, since the recent divorce kept her far from the Jurgen household; the prenuptial certainly had been a wonderful gift of foresight.

Robert's father wasn't so bad though, very laid back and considerate in regards to his only son. Sure, the man wanted his heir to have children, but not at the cost of his own happiness; so what if his only heir was gay? So long as he didn't marry a psycho (Bryan anyone?) Mr. Jurgen was fairly certain they could work things out as they progressed.

Johnny was shaken from his thoughts as Enrique, and a slightly flushed Oliver, climbed into the limo. The Frenchman pretended not to notice the obvious stares, and elbowed his smirking lover in the side heavily, mumbling something in Italian that only Robert and the redhead seemed to catch. Robert promptly spat out the water he had taken a sip of, and Johnny turned to give them his full attention.

"You just did what in the bathroom?!" he asked, surprise and amusement both etched across his features. Features of which Robert found himself admiring.

Soon all occupants of the limo who hadn't already been watching the pair, joined in, a barrage of questions and assumptions ringing out in the spacious limo. The commotion allowed a private moment between two best friends, the redhead of which leaned close enough just for his German companion to hear, and more so whispered in Gaelic, of which only he himself and Robert understood (Gaelic was a language which Enrique and Oliver had never had the aptitude to pick up), "~There, now, that ought to teach them about blackmailing you.~"

"~You certainly are getting a little more devious than usual, I'm touched.~"

'Oh, I'd love to be touching you all right,' Johnny thought, his eyes running over the now smirking lips of his crush, 'lots and lots of touching.'

"~Sit back and enjoy the show.~"

*~*

Oliver had never thought he'd be so glad to see his countryside abode as he was when he climbed out of the still buzzing limo, it's occupants still sharing juicy gossip over what they thought had happened in the plane after they had left. The Frenchman was more than a little annoyed with Johnny, but, considering the way the Scot had been whispering to their amethyst haired friend, in Gaelic no less, he figured he'd let it slide and take one for the team. It was, in one way or another, a fairly good start on the long road of getting that particular pair together; especially with the redhead being so stubborn.

The green haired man shrugged off his wandering thoughts and began showing everyone to their rooms, allowing them to settle in before he began their pool party. Explaining that everyone would be paired up, as the estate was not as extensive as perhaps one of Robert's, the Frenchman began listing off the pairings.

"Obviously Enri is with me, Robbie's with Johnny," the man put a hand on his hip, "Tala and Claude, Kai and Miguel, you two seem to get along; Spencer and Bryan, because I don't want to die….Ian and Aaron, hopefully you won't blow him up in his sleep; and Mathilda you shall have your own room, because as our only femme fatale for your trip I dare not put you in a room with such temptation."

"Even if the majority of men in the room are batting for the other team," Aaron stated flatly. He and Ian were the only two straight men in the room, and they only could assume Mathilda was straight herself.

"There now!" Enrique announced, clapping his hands together, "Off with you, and Oli and I shall begin dinner preparations!"

"Wash your hands first please!" Aaron called back over his shoulder, causing the majority of the group to laugh hysterically.

Oliver began to rethink getting Robert and Johnny together; punishment for the current shade of red his face had just took on.

*~*

Robert sat himself down in a lounge chair on the farthest side of the pool, a book tucked under his arm as kicked off his sandals and leaned back, letting the shade of the umbrella offer some relief to the heat of the day. He waited patiently for his companion to seat himself as well, the redhead's eyes glued to his newspaper as he scribbled with his left hand answers across its grayish page.

Johnny sat down in a chair as well; one on Robert's left, out from under the umbrella. He stretched long, muscled legs out, his dark green board shorts covering him from thigh to knee, his white tank top covering up the defined torso the German desperately wished to see.

The pair sat in comfortable silence, Robert lost in the world of his book, Johnny consumed with the need to complete his newest crossword puzzle, the occasional tapping of his pen against his leg sometimes pulling his companion out of his reverie.

"Hey…" he whispered quietly, not wanting to distract from the tranquility of their solitude (that was with the exception of Oliver's bustling back and forth between the grill and the kitchen).

"Hmmm?"

"Shakespearean Prince?"

"Hamlet, I think. I was never a big Shakespeare fan. Bit of a perverted sod, if you ask me."

Johnny scribbled down the answer, before continuing his quest for solutions to the puzzle. After another five minutes of pen tapping, he let out an annoyed huff.

"Give up?" Robert asked, lifting his mahogany eyes from the tantalizing pages of his book to watch his redheaded companion.

"For now, maybe a swim will help me clear my head." With that, the Scot stood up and in what seemed like slow motion for Robert, pulled away the white tank top, and revealed washboard abs and prominent pectorals…and was that a piercing?

Indeed it was, attached to Johnny's left nipple was a small, silver hoop, gleaming in the sun's rays. The German blinked, "Jonathan…is your nipple pierced?"

"Yeah, it's kind of recent, the other one I was telling you about earlier this week, remember?"

Oh, Robert remembered alright, and he was quite relieved knowing that it was most definitely not a bar through the tip of Johnny's penis; though, as he has not seen his friend's penis, he's not particularly sure that is a safe assumption, especially at the rate he seems to be getting piercings lately.

The German took a long moment to bask in the glory of his companion. Johnny was certainly very, very attractive. The piercings weren't the only things keeping Robert's undivided attention, but also the Scot's tattoos, the first being a simple Celtic knot around both his right and left biceps, ink dancing when those muscles were flexed; the second and third being symmetrical, placed starting at the tops of his hips, running down along the insides of his jutting hip bones and disappearing beneath board shorts, leaving the German to wonder exactly how far down they went. They were simple tribal versions of salamanders, in honor of his bit beast; black like his Celtic knots, and along the same style.

Robert's eyes trailed along the tattoos before returning to meet the eyes of their owner; the German cast him a smile and accepted the offered tank top, setting it down next to him, but not before catching the distinct scent that was Johnny's clinging to it's cotton material. And with that the redhead dived head first into the pool's clear water, surfacing a while later at the other end of the pool.

*~*

The first set of people to arrive outside at the pool had been Kai and Miguel, who found their hosts all spread about around the pool. Oliver was as predicted, standing next to the grill, a frilly white apron tied around his narrow waist, his hair pulled back in a low ponytail as he busily prepared their dinner. Enrique was not far away, coming in and out of the French doors with platters of food his petite lover requested. The Italian took the orders quite well for someone who was a supposed playboy.

On the other side of the pool lay their two other hosts, Johnny, whom was handing his German companion a pen and newspaper, so that he could jump into the crystal clear pool. And of course Robert was stretched out on his lounge chair in his plaid swim trunks and blue tank top, a copy of Ivanhoe open in his lap as he moved to secure the newspaper on top, intent on answering a few questions for his redheaded friend.

Kai found himself wandering over to take a seat next to Robert, watching entranced as Miguel, the tanned, gorgeous Adonis peeled off his t-shirt and dove in, intent seemingly on dunking Johnny. The Russian found himself smiling softly at the sight, and settled down into the chair to secretly watch the blue-eyed heartthrob.

Robert noticed this particular little interest, and whilst reading through a few of the unanswered questions on the crossword puzzle, stated quietly, "Someone has a crush…military decoration….."

Kai's head snapped around, eyes wide and sending a startled gaze towards the amethyst haired man. He opened his mouth to deny the accusation, when suddenly Robert cried out.

Johnny snapped to attention and panicked, asked what was wrong as he swam over to that side of the pool.

"Sorry to cause alarm," Robert said sheepishly at his friend, "it's just that 59 across is medal. I had a blond moment."

"Hey!" Miguel cried out, looking a tad put out, but smiling his typical dazzling smile.

"No offense meant." Robert replied before returning his attention to the task at hand. Once Johnny had swam back over and began a vicious assault on his Spanish companion, the German picked up where he had left off, "He's going to eventually notice that you're staring at him, you know. Not that I blame you or anything."

"Don't you-" Kai began, outraged at the very idea of someone else looking at Miguel.

"Oh, come on now. Miguel's not whom I stare at." Came the soft reply, the German lifted his gaze briefly to Kai's, and then nodded his head in the direction of his redheaded companion, who had begun doing laps in the pool in a race against their Spanish friend.

Realization dawned on the Russian and he made a small 'o' in acknowledgement, though he was notably surprised at the German's openness over the situation. "In a way I guess that sort of makes sense," Kai stated, tilting his head to the side in though, "I mean, he's a hothead, stubborn, and rude, and you're polite, calm and collected. Opposites must really attract."

Robert snorted at him. "I don't think that applies unless both parties share mutual feelings for one another. I have a hunch this relationship is one-sided." The German set aside Johnny's newspaper and returned to his book, finding comfort in the yellowed pages.

Kai noted the silence, and felt it best to leave the amethyst haired man to himself for now. The Russian knew what it felt like, to have feelings for someone who very well would probably never reciprocate said feelings; he hoped for Robert's sake that Johnny had at least a tiny crush on his friend.

Shortly after what Kai deemed his 'heart to heart' with Robert, Bryan appeared with Tala, the two conversing quietly amongst each other over something Kai was certain he didn't want to know about, especially with the way they kept looking towards him with those devious smirks. However, the Russian was distracted from his suspicious thoughts when a delightedly welcome voice called to him.

"Hey Kai, why don't you get in with me?"

For a moment, the dual haired blader almost took the question in a most inappropriate manner, but quickly collected himself and replied, "I don't like swimming."

"Nonsense, everyone likes swimming!"

"Give it a rest Miguel," Tala called out as he snagged his recently procured lover around the waist, "Kai doesn't know how to swim."

"That's fine. Come on Kai, I'll teach you how."

"I'd really rather not…"

"Please?"

Damn Spaniard. Damn him and his ridiculously gorgeous eyes, and that sinfully tanned skin over delicious looking muscles. And damn that pouting lip all to hell. With a great sigh of reluctance, and briefly casting Robert a look of absolute desperation, he trudged his way over to the blond man.

Miguel's pout turned into a stunning smile, and he extended his arms to Kai after the Russian had tugged off his top. The crimson eyed man looked very uneasy as he slowly slid into the water, hands grasping Miguel's biceps in a vice grip, clinging to him in desperation as the Spaniard kicked away from the wall, the Russian in his arms.

Johnny smirked before removing himself from the pool, catching the towel Robert tossed at him. The German took a brief moment to admire the way the droplets weaved their way down from his crimson locks over bold pectorals and through trenches between abdominal muscles.

The Scot sat down in the sunlight as before, enjoying the warm rays on his damp skin. "Did you figure anymore out?"

"I only glanced at it briefly, so no, just 59 across."

"Better than me though," Johnny replied, draping an arm over his eyes to shield them from the bright natural light cascading from cloudless skies. "I think Ian's up to something again." He said offhandedly.

"Really?" Robert replied, wondering how he had missed the appearance of Spencer, Ian, Aaron and Mathilda. 'I was probably drooling over Johnny's wet body,' he thought to himself in annoyance, berating his weakness and lack of attentiveness.

"Yeah, after his locking Claude and Tala in the jet's bathroom, I kind of figured he was playing matchmaker. It doesn't help that he's lurking in the pool right now."

"Is that why you got out?"

"I'd rather not be there when he pisses Kai and Miguel off. Especially Kai, he'll probably roast him alive with Dranzer."

Robert glanced back at the pool; Ian was very much looking devious, and the German had a feeling that there would soon be a massive explosion from the crimson eyed Russian playing innocent in the water. Then again, if Kai gets Ian first, perhaps the purple haired Russian will be less inclined to meddle in the German's affairs. But, Robert, being the knight in shining armor that he is, felt the sudden urge to bail Kai out of the oncoming tragedy.

"We should play a game," Robert stated suddenly, turning his gaze to Johnny, "a pool game. What's that one where you try to shove people over whilst sitting on someone else's shoulders?"

Johnny blinked. "Chicken? You want to play chicken?"

Robert gave a sheepish smile, "I really don't want Ian to ruin Kai's moment with Miguel. They don't need his interfering," the German added with a sigh, "they seem to be doing fine on their own."

Johnny followed his gaze. "Yeah…so chicken it is."


	4. 67 Down

"Crossword" by thebirdgod

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or the characters contained within Beyblade. Also, most crossword questions came from the Courier Journal, a newspaper in Kentucky.

Note: Serious apologies on the delay of getting this chapter to you all. I haven't had the greatest couple of months…had to fix my car, my laptop somehow had half its operating system deleted off, and oh, I broke my nose where it connects to my skull and had to have surgery to repair it. So…yeah. But I'm back, and aside from possible shoulder surgery, I should be getting on with the story. Sorry for the wait!

Pairings: JohnnyxRobert, MiguelxKai, TalaxClaude, SpencerxBryan

Chapter 4

67 Down

When Robert said he wanted to play chicken, this wasn't what he had in mind. Across from him was a very demonic looking Ian, sitting atop Aaron's shoulders, in the middle of the pool. The German had to take a long moment to convince himself that Kai most likely would appreciate his sacrifice, as the amethyst haired man sat on the dense shoulders of the object of his affection. Only now was he beginning to realize how stupid he was.

Robert wasn't alone in the mortification of sitting astride your crush's shoulders, as Johnny was trying desperately to control his hormones with the German's crotch being so close, and those sleek legs slung over his shoulders practically staring him in the face sure wasn't helping him any. 'Focus on the match, focus on the match.'

"~There are no rules,~" Johnny spoke softly in Gaelic to his partner, "~you can get away with just about anything.~"

"~All right, just don't drop me.~"

Mathilda announced the start, and Robert instantly stopped thinking about those firm hands on his calves as his hands locked with Ian's, the Russian smirking deviously in his direction, using his weight to try and unbalanced the German. In all honesty, this didn't surprise Robert, as he was somehow less in weight than his shorter opponent, and looking tactically, as the German was prone to do, it would be the one way to bring his downfall. Of course, no one mentioned to Ian that this was a no rules kind of match, and that, gave the knight a serious advantage. Robert let go of one of Ian's hands and gave him a swift punch in the arm, effectively knocking the little Russian off Aaron's shoulders.

"Checkmate." Robert stated from his perch.

"That's not fair!" He cried out as he resurfaced, looking put out as Robert slid down to ride piggy-back on Johnny.

"All's fair in love and war Ian." Robert stated, a rather deranged smirk crossing his normally schooled features. "Why, do you want a rematch? I believe I can hold Johnny up long enough…" Crimson eyes look thoughtfully over the redhead's shoulder to leer at Ian, the German's smirk hidden behind the broad shoulder of his companion.

Johnny's hand faintly stroked a creamy thigh, letting a smile grace his features, "Oh, I'd only need a few seconds, Robbie. I've been practicing my knockout times in the ring the past few months. Really cutting it down."

"Who cares?" Came Bryan's sarcastic statement, "Me and Spenc versus Kai and Miguel."

Miguel looked to Kai for permission, knowing that the small Russian was not at all happy about the water in general, and was pretty sure that this wasn't going to end in their favor.

Kai, being one to never ignore a challenge, huffed his agreement and slowly made his way over towards Miguel, giving his Russian friends a dirty look before giving the Spaniard a dazzling smile, full of reassurance and confidence. Neither emotion reached his garnet eyes, however, and it was dually noted by the blond.

Robert leaned close to Johnny's ear, "This ought to be interesting."

"Agreed." The red head took his time walking over the steps leading out of the pool, savoring the feel of the German's legs wrapped firmly around his waist. Even as they stepped out of the pool, Johnny continued to carry his friend around, marveling at how light his companion was. He made his way to the pair of pool chairs that sat under the umbrella, where only a little while ago sat Robert and Kai in what had originally appeared to be friendly conversation. The redhead was heading that way however for it's relatively safe distance away from deranged Russians.

The Scott let Robert slide down his back and onto the chair, where he proceeded to make himself comfortable. Johnny to the seat next to him, handing the German a towel, as the redhead amusedly watched Kai mount Miguel's bronzed shoulders. He briefly glanced back at the amethyst haired man next to him, enjoying the slightly damp hair that framed an angular face. With a soft sigh, the redhead returned his attention to the pool.

Mathilda announced the start of the next match, Bryan on top of his lover's broad shoulders, Kai practically clinging to Miguel's. Bryan threw a punch, but Kai dodged, and sent one of his own, surprising Miguel. He didn't realize it was going to be a fist fight.

The pair went back and forth, dodging and blocking blow for blow, until finally, Bryan managed to send a kick towards Kai (Robert wasn't entirely sure how Bryan had pulled that move off). Of course, the smaller male dodged, with a degree of difficulty, but in doing so made poor Miguel lose his balance, and the two went tumbling backwards into the water.

Miguel was the first to surface, dragging a very wet, very unhappy looking Kai with him. The lithe Russian was coughing and sputtering and glaring bloody murder at Bryan, who sat victorious on top of his lover's broad shoulders.

"Kai, do you know that you look like a drowned rat?" The silver eyed Russian stated, a lecherous grin crossing over his fine features, a look of absolute mischief dancing in his eyes, "I don't believe it's the look for you." His lover seemed to catch on to the intense teasing, a soft smile playing on his chiseled features as he realized what Bryan was trying to do.

"I don't know Bryan, he kind of has that 'you know you want this' look." Kai made a face that almost had Spencer pissing himself. "Miguel, maybe you and Kai should take a break and dry off?" Spencer suggested subtly, praying that the blond would take the initiative and lead away the soon to be murderous Russian.

"That's a good idea, I think," Miguel replied, wrapping a tanned arm around Kai's waist as the little Russian swore horrible things in his native tongue, causing Bryan's cheeks to turn just a faint pink in embarrassment. There were just some things that should never leave one's mouth, and what his friend was muttering ranked high on the list.

Kai allowed himself to be led out of the pool, and to a lone beach chair, where he was forced to sit. His displeasure over his defeat, and his friends' statements, were briefly forgotten as Miguel sat behind him on the same chair, so close that Kai could feel his warmth spreading across his back. A fluffy towel soon entrapped him, tanned arms encircling his thin body, the edges of the towel held in muscled hands as Miguel wrapped them both inside its comforting warmth.

Johnny took that moment to share a look with Robert. "You were right."

"When am I not right?"

The Scot smirked at the rhetorical question. "Well, there was that one time where we took a bet on whether Rick was sleeping with-"

Robert cut him off, "Let's not go there, I still can't get that particular image out of my head."

"I thought it was pretty impressive how flexible Michael was when we caught them on the-"

"What part of let's not go there did you not get?" Robert asked incredulously, a blush dusting his features.

"All of it." Johnny offered a warm smile, "Besides, you're cute when you blush."

The German's blush intensified. In an attempt to shun his embarrassment, he responded, "Hardly a reason to give me nightmares though." Robert's smile remained however, and he looked back to the pool where Tala had just tackled Bryan off of Spencer's shoulders, resulting in a massive wave as all three men slammed into the water.

Oliver had at that point wandered over next to Robert and Johnny, and after amusedly watching Russians flail around in an attempt to dunk the other, said, "You think I should tell everyone that dinner is ready? Or should we wait and see if they kill each other first?"

Johnny seemed to think about it seriously, but his thoughts were interrupted when Robert said, "Well, I don't know about you Oliver, but I'm not in the mood to play Hide the Body."

Oliver smiled, and promptly yelled his announcement over the roar of the Russians. It was comical to watch how fast his house guests could move when food was involved. The Frenchman walked back to his station by the grill and began to supervise what could later be described as a feeding frenzy.

"Shall we?" Johnny asked, offering a hand to his still damp companion.

"Yes, please," Robert replied, taking the extended hand, allowing himself to be pulled up. The pair stayed like that for a moment longer, violet locked with crimson and the feel of calloused fingers grasping silken ones.

"Robert, Johnny! Hurry up before it's all gone!"

They hastily parted, and began the short trek towards the group, but not before the Scot caught the look of disappointment in twin pools of garnet. He'd just have to fix that later.


	5. 1 Across

"Crossword" by thebirdgod

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or the characters contained within Beyblade. Also, most crossword questions came from the Courier Journal, a newspaper in Kentucky.

Note: Thanks for the reviews! I'm going to try and crank out another chapter or two before my midterms next week, so wish me luck! I made a spider chart of events just for you all so I can get this story back on track. This chapter was brought to you by a delicious bag of generic Doritos and Miyavi; thank them, because without their help I'd still be procrastinating.

Pairings: JohnnyxRobert, MiguelxKai, TalaxClaude, SpencerxBryan

"~….~" indicates Gaelic, because I can't keep telling you it's in Gaelic, it gets repetitive.

**Chapter 5**

1 Across

Johnny stood surveying the scene before him, wondering just how a simple barbeque had exploded into what he was looking out now. It started after everyone had started eating, sitting around the table on the patio, enjoying pleasant conversation with the occasional smug comment made by Bryan.

Looking back at it now, the Scot was positive that Ian was behind the whole mess; it originated from his side of the table, a simple piece of pasta from Oliver's amazing Pasta Salad had teleported mysteriously onto Bryan's face. In response, the silver eyed Russian hurled (not thrown, _hurled_) a loaded shish-kabob in the smaller's direction. Ian threw mashed potatoes and accidently hit Mathilda, who threw a roll, which hit Oliver. Well, Oliver threw green beans, Enrique threw a roasted bell pepper, Spencer tossed another roll, Miguel slung more potatoes, and Robert…Robert started throwing cookies.

A soft smile tugged at Johnny's features as he looked at his food smothered friend; there were specs of potato in his hair and a smear of barbeque sauce across his neck. His clothes were soaked after the Scot had started pouring sweet tea on everyone (Johnny sported a lemon slice in his own hair for that mishap). Somehow Robert had gotten Johnny and Aaron involved, followed by the relatively passive Claude. The entire outdoor entertaining area was effectively demolished, and Oliver's butler bustled around them trying to clean it up, telling them that he'd get it.

Oliver had disappeared inside, and after being missing for a few minutes, announced that everyone needed to come inside a change before they "started attracting the flies." Bare feet slid across the marble floor, and Johnny had to catch Robert before he took a nose dive towards the slick surface, the pair laughing the entire time as they wandered up towards their room. Their green haired friend had announced a "slumber party" in the living room, where they would watch movies, and most likely get conned into playing something ridiculous…like Truth or Dare.

Saw that coming didn't you?

"Okay Robbie," Oliver began, "truth or dare?"

The German sat comfortably on the stack of pillows covering the floor, relaxing next to his very shirtless friend, Johnny, who rested quietly next to him. Robert sighed, why the hell were they playing a game that involved an empty beer bottle anyway? Tilting his head slightly to the side, he observed his French friend. "~He's up to something.~" He whispered to Johnny in Gaelic.

"~I know,~" came the mumbled reply, the Scot burying his face into the pillow next to Robert's silk clad thigh (why did he wear silky pajamas anyway?) "~say truth.~"

"Truth."

"What is your favorite activity, and beyblading can't be your answer."

The German held his friend's gaze for a long moment. Oliver was well aware of what Robert's favorite pass time was, so why did he want it pointed out to everyone else. Definitely up to something. "Dance."

Bryan almost choked on his beer, arching an eyebrow in the direction of the German. "Dance?"

"Dance. Most specifically ballet, though on occasion I get a wild hair and favor belly dancing. Depends on my mood."

The group has a whole just stared at him, curiosity showing on their faces.

"Well I think we all know what we're going to ask Robert on our turn." Tala stated, blinking owlishly at the lithe man across from him.

"That's on your turn," Robert replied, before spinning the bottle, watching as it hesitantly landed on Ian. The annoyed from turned into a devilish smirk as he eyed his victim up slowly. "Ian," he said in a sing-song voice, "I believe this is the moment where you should atone for you misbehaviors…."

"Never." Ian replied, puffing out his chest.

"~Idiot. If he says dare, you should totally make him jump in the pool. It's gotta be gross by now…~" Johnny stated, a purple eye gazing up at Robert.

"~Naked. He's going in naked.~" The German replied, causing the redhead to snort in a vague attempt to cover up his laughter.

The group stared at the pair as they exchanged in Gaelic, feeling the onslaught of dread and misery that was swirling around Ian as he realized exactly how unfortunate he was. Bravely, he announced, "I'll do a dare."

Johnny laughed out loud and outrageously, tears coming to his eyes as he slowly pulled out his camera phone. "~Lay it on the poor lad. I'm so getting photos of this.~"

"~Mm, I do oh so love blackmail.~" Robert produced an almost sickeningly sweet smile, and stated, "I hereby dare you to strip all the way down and jump into the pool, requirements of this dare are that you must in fact remain in the pool for 5 minutes, swimming laps."

Ian gagged. The pool was full of barbeque chicken and pork, mashed potatoes, and all other forms of food from dinner that had by now become soggy, floating bits of disgusting. Who knew the German had such a torturous, plotting mean streak?

All Johnny could think of was how lucky Ian was still full of youthful pride and lacking any shame what so ever. Idly the Scot wondered what it was that made the kid so damn crafty, and clearly determined to hook up every single beyblader he came across. Twisted little shit.

Ian went outside and stripped, which Johnny snapped a shot of (an excellent ass shot perfect for harassment), and then jumped into the pool.

"Oh my god! What is wrong with you Robert? EWWWWW!" Ian whined from his spot towards the edge of the pool.

The group had all taken seats on the now clean pool chairs, and enjoyed the suffering of their friend. His fault for being a mischievous imp, in the personal opinion of Ian's fellow bladers, but they hadn't told him that yet.

"Swim or I throw I'll throw in something disgusting." Robert stated, looking to Oliver he asked, "Got any cottage cheese? That'll get him moving."

"PLEASE NO!"

"Then move it Ariel."

All the while, Johnny enjoyed the video feature on his phone, trying to keep his chuckling to a minimum as to not disturb the lovely sound of his friend threatening the Russian. He couldn't get over how brilliant their combined plan was, or the fact that the normally peace loving German had hauled out and had the kid swimming in the most disgusting, bacteria infected pool water ever to grace the planet. The Scot would never have gotten in it.

All too soon the five minutes were up, and Ian made a mad dash to the welcoming arms of a steamy shower and clean clothes, refusing to participate any longer. Breathing a sigh of relief, the group continued their game inside the confines of the mansion, piled on top of pillows and blankets.

Tala volunteered to spin and start the round anew, his bottle landing on the fiery haired Scot, much to Johnny's displeasure. "Go ahead and dare me, I don't think we can get worse than Ian's punishment."

"Oh, we can," Bryan stated, before receiving a smack from Kai, "but we're not going to because I don't find abuse attractive. Ow, Kai stop." You'd think he'd figure out that being a smartass equaled pain via Kai's backhand.

"I dare you to kiss Robert right here in front of everyone, and not some stupid little peck on the lips either." Tala giggled madly before forcing Kai to give up his camera phone, mumbling about getting a picture, as it was going to be priceless.

Johnny didn't actually find this much of dare, and the immediate blush that had taken to his friend's cheeks made it appear that he wasn't considering this much of a dare either. The Scot pushed himself up onto his elbows, before straightening his arm out; it was kind of ridiculous how much larger he was than the German, as on his hands and knees he appeared taller than his sitting friend. Steadying himself on one arm, he used his free hand to catch the angular chin belonging to Robert, bringing the surprised man's lips to his own. Johnny's hand held the German in place, tongue slipping out tease lips open.

Robert couldn't believe his luck; all this dreaming and hoping and wishing and the lips of his crush were on his in a matter of seconds, begging for entrance. The German allowed an arm to steady himself, before tentatively reaching up with the other to entangle his hand in red locks. He allowed Jonathan's tongue into his mouth, feeling the appendage glide against his soothingly; something cold and metallic rubbed his tongue before continuing its dance inside his mouth. Robert allowed himself to get caught up in the kiss, and almost pouted when they parted; the applause didn't help any.

"Jesus guys," Tala began, looking at the phone now full of pictures of hot, steamy European make out sessions, "that was hot."

"Thanks," Johnny replied, spinning the bottle watching deviously as it lands on Miguel, "truth or dare, bitch."

Miguel laughed, and agreed to dare. He paused a moment as he watched Robert (now recovered) turn suspicious eyes back towards Johnny; the Spaniard worried for the Scot's safety.

"So when did you get a bolt through your tongue?" Robert asked, eyebrow arched.

Johnny made a motion for Robert to wait, which oddly didn't faze the German in the slightest, and he sat there in relative silence as Johnny announced the blonde's punishment. "Miguel you are to take Kai into the wonderful and not so spacious hall closet, where you will remain for 10 minutes. Use the time wisely."

Kai's face was scarlet, but he allowed himself to be led away, the reassuring voice of the Spaniard echoing through the halls as the pair disappeared from view.

"Aren't you going to follow them?" Aaron asked.

"Nah, hoping Miguel will take the initiative here." Johnny replied as he rolled over onto his back, resting on his elbows. Turning his attention to the bemused German, he offered a dazzling smile, eyeing the slightly swollen lips, and wondering if he could get one more kiss out of the deal. "I got the bolt a couple of months ago, it's no surprise you didn't notice, we don't get to play tonsil hockey very often." He offered a seductive smirk.

Robert leaned over, his lips close to a pierced ear, "~I'm afraid we haven't had the pleasure.~" He whispered in Gaelic, letting his breath graze the shell of the ear, before he sat back up and turned his attention to the other guests. "Ten minutes to kill, hm?"

"Well, I'm going to go to bed, a girl has to get her rest," Mathilda stated, "good night everyone, don't get into too much trouble there Robert."

"I'll do my best. Goodnight."

"I think I'll turn in too, god knows what a room full of gay guys will do," Aaron said jokingly, "keep it down, got it?"

"We'll try, but not going to make any promises," Tala stated, grinning wolfishly from his spot on the floor where he was wrapped around Claude, "right baby?" Claude's blush was crimson, his hand coming to cover his embarrassed face.

"Should probably be more worried about Bryan and Spenc over there. Psycho's gonna go cannibal on you Spencer."

The blond gave them a bemused smirk, his armed draped over Bryan's shoulders, "It's usually the other way around, but I'll leave you to your fantasies." Somehow the silver eyed Russian managed to spit out more of his beer. Clearly not his day. And how come no one else was drinking beer?

"And with that, I'm gone." Aaron sprinted up the stairs, briefly catching the breathy moan that sounded suspiciously like Miguel's name. Good call on Johnny's part for the closet plan.

"Well, I think the game is over, my love," Enrique said to his lover.

"We should go ahead and put a movie in," Oliver pointed out, "Kai and Miguel will come out eventually."

"Yeah, if Kai's moaning is anything to go by it won't be too much longer," Bryan pointed out, placing his beer on the coffee table. There was no real point in trying anymore, someone was bound to say something inappropriate.

Robert covered his eyes and shook his head, a laugh bubbling from his lips. "All the information I didn't want to know about my fellow bladers has clearly been laid at my feet." Still amused, the German wiggled down under a comforter his friend had been laying on; he drug a few pillows over and rested them against the base of the couch.

"Scoot over," Johnny stated as he too slid under the blanket.

"I guess telling you to get your own pillows would be pointless, huh?"

"Yes, yes it would."

With a sigh Robert moved to the side, not that he was really going to complain about sharing pillows and a blanket with his crush. Of course, Johnny takes up a lot of space. The Scot took up so much space in fact, he had to wiggle under Robert, somehow adjusting the German to lay halfway on him, the red head wrapping an arm around his friend's lithe form.

Slightly embarrassed, the amethyst haired man blushed, but relaxed into the muscled arms and allowed himself to enjoy the rare opportunity.

"So what're we watching?"

"Madagascar."

"…We're watching a kid flick huh?" Bryan said, looking to his lover for confirmation.

"Yes," Spencer replied, "it has deranged penguins."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?"

"~Are you comfortable?~" Johnny whispered as Oliver turned off all the lights, throwing them into sudden darkness.

"~Yes, why?~" Robert asked, searching through the blackness to gaze into violet eyes.

"~Well, I really wanted to do this,~" Johnny leaned down and caught his friend's lips for what he assumed would be the last time. He tilted his head to the side, deepening the kiss, almost moaning when Robert opened his mouth to allow a pierced tongue in. The Scot took his time, drawing out slight whimpers that were thankfully drowned by the roar of surround sound.

They pulled apart when breathing seemed too necessary to put off any longer. Suddenly feeling foolish over the possibility of ruining his friendship, Johnny began to apologize.

He was cut off by swollen lips pressing against his gently. "Shut up," Robert stated, snuggling back down against the bare chest, throwing a leg over the Scot's thighs, "watch the movie so we can go upstairs."

If it hadn't have been so dark, Robert would have been able to see the most heart-warming smile radiate from his soon to be boyfriend.


	6. 14 Down

"Crossword" by thebirdgod

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or the characters contained within Beyblade. Also, most crossword questions came from the Courier Journal, a newspaper in Kentucky.

Note: Sorry for the delay! Here is the next chapter, again it doesn't have blatant questions and answers for puzzles, but don't worry, we're slowly building up to a good one! Thanks for all the reviews, you've been too kind!

Pairings: JohnnyxRobert, MiguelxKai, TalaxClaude, SpencerxBryan

**Chapter 6**

14 Down

Bryan's attention had been glued to the screen the moment the penguins had begun their escape attempts, quietly praising their ingenious methods of breaking out the zoo. Spencer just smiled in return, letting his hand drift teasingly across his lover's thigh, whispering in Russian, "Your praise for them sounds suspiciously like the praise you give me when I'm pounding you into the bed."

The silver eyed Russian paled a bit, replying in their native tongue, "Absolute nonsense. Using spoons to dig a tunnel through a zoo pales drastically in comparison to what I feel when you touch me." Bryan could hardly believe his lover had even hinted that the penguins were better than him; that was just ridiculous, there was no way a cartoon could get remotely close to how he felt when his lover was even in the same room as him. His response, however, was a smug smile and an intense kiss, before Spencer allowed him to continue watching the film.

Robert remained relaxed on top of Johnny, smiling when his friend weaved their hands together across his abdomen. Johnny leaned down to whisper in his German's ear.

"~You realize Oliver expects the rest of us to sleep down here right?~"

A sigh was released, and the garnet eyed man adjusted himself so that he could look into the Scot's eyes, despite the dim lighting. He replied just as softly, "~I know, and perhaps that's for the best. I'd like my first time being pinned underneath you to take place somewhere a little more special than Oliver's guest room.~"

Perhaps, Johnny thought to himself, he should have kept his mouth shut, because now he had arousing images of Robert moaning underneath him. "~I agree. Gives me a little more time to woo you.~"

Robert released a soft chuckling, placing a chaste kiss to Johnny's lips. "~Ah yes, that whole dating thing.~"

"~Yes, that whole dating thing. Don't want you to look back on all of this and call me an uncouth man whore.~"

"~I'd never call you a man whore unless you truly were one. I will allow you to do plenty of wooing then.~"

There was a pause, a devilish smirk stretching across Johnny's face before he caught those lips in another heated kiss, briefly suckling Robert's bottom lip before releasing his now boyfriend's mouth. "~That's your first wooing gift. And speaking of, I just realized that was one of the answers on the crossword puzzle.~"

The German chuckled, "~Wooing? Well it seems that you can now finish the puzzle. Perhaps there will be a question about the types of lemurs found in Madagascar.~" He gave the redhead a grin that screamed 'I-know-I'm-hilarious', then snuggled back down into his boyfriend's arms, content on watching a movie with him in peace. It was almost like a date, except for the whole being surrounded by other gay couples, one pair of which he was afraid might start fucking in front of them (he caught sight of Spencer massaging Bryan's thigh).

Oliver had noticed the close proximity of his two best friends, and smiled sweetly in the dark to his own lover, whispering gently, "Took them long enough…I think we should put the second Madagascar in after this one goes off, give them more time to be awake before we start off early tomorrow morning."

"I agree, my heart," Enrique replied, glancing up to the screen, watching as the main character scares off a bunch of deranged animals accidentally…they were called foosa or something like that, "they look good together."

"They do," the greenette replied, placing a soft kiss to his lover's cheek, "they deserve so much happiness."

"Indeed. It will be fun watching them court each other."

A giggle. "Oh, I hope so. I want to get as many pictures of it as possible."

Johnny's lips ghosted against Robert's cheek, "They're up to something over there…"

"This sounds familiar," came the German's mumbled reply, "didn't we go through this with Ian?"

"I have a feeling it wasn't just Ian," Johnny stated, his arm pulling Robert further into his side, "I'll keep a close eye on them just in case. Don't want them locking you in a closet without me."

The German let out a snort, but was smiling against the toned skin of his boyfriend, letting his hand idly trace patterns across wash board abs. He listened absently as their friends giggled between each other; and pointed out to the Scot, how Bryan seemed to be obsessed with the penguins (as the Russian was cheering them on during their crazy battle strategies).

"Remind me to get him a Rico doll for Christmas."

A snort. "How about some TNT instead?"

The second movie was put in, and at this point, Miguel and Kai (who was thankful of the dark room) joined the rest of the group, laying down some blankets before getting cuddled up together, the Spaniard pulling a thick quilt over them. They had settled in closest to Robert and Johnny, who they noticed were awfully close together.

"Beware the giggling couple," Johnny whispered to Miguel, "they're back to their scheming. Oh and a 'thank you' would be nice."

Miguel had a blank look on his face, before breaking out into a broad grin, "Thanks, I owe you one big time."

"You can pay me back by helping me keep an eye on the little sneaks nearby," the redhead replied, keeping quiet as he realized his lithe German hadn't moved in a few minutes, and his breathing seemed to have evened out.

"They're not going to use shaving cream on the first person who falls asleep are they?" Kai asked in a low whisper, genuinely surprised at the possibility.

The memory of a slumber party long since past drifted through the Scot's mind. He remembered how Oliver had been the first to fall asleep; Robert and Enrique had put whipped cream all over him. The green haired man had been very unhappy when he woke up, and swore vengeance on Enri (it was never a good idea to try and get back at Robert, it was like asking for your own death). "No," Johnny replied, "they won't do anything that might put their lives in danger. They're just being overtly suspicious."

Kai and Miguel nodded, wiggling closer together as they turned their attention towards the movie. Who knew penguins could fly a plane?

"Wait, weren't they the ones who made Robert wear a flight attendant costume? Not that I'm complaining," Kai asked, letting his crimson gaze meet the redhead's own. Miguel raised an eyebrow in the direction of his lover. He imagined he too could admit that the German looked fantastic in that pencil skirt.

"They used blackmail of him being in love with me." Johnny shrugged before continuing, "They don't have anything to go on now. At least not without opening themselves up for the wrath of a Jurgen."

Johnny turned his attention back to his companion, content to watch the German as he slept soundly in his arms. He was glad that they decided to wait; they both had been raised in traditional households, and he felt it was important to make sure their relationship wasn't just about sex, though god knows that was going to be one fantastic result of it. He was thinking about having flowers delivered to Robert's house before they got there; something for the German to see when he first makes it to his room. The Scot would have to think of something creative to do as a card. Maybe a riddle?

Towards the end of the movie, Johnny found himself drifting off; the sweet smell of Robert helping to ease him into a peaceful slumber. He tightened his grip on his companion, tugging the blanket up around them, before he finally closed his eyes, head tilted to bury his nose in soft amethyst locks. It would be the best night of sleep he'd had in a long, long time.


	7. 9 Across

"**Crossword" by thebirdgod**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or the characters contained within Beyblade. Also, most crossword questions came from the Courier Journal, a newspaper in Kentucky.**

**Notes: Thanks for reviewing! Here's another chapter I just whipped up; I hope it'll hold you all until I can get back on again. Unfortunately I came home from moving a friend to find my pet Russian tortoise (named Ivanov Kuznetsov) had died sometime during the day. So I'm not too sure when I'll be back on, but I promise it won't be too long. **

**Pairings: JohnnyxRobert, MiguelxKai, TalaxClaude, SpencerxBryan**

"**~….~" indicates Gaelic, because I can't keep telling you it's in Gaelic, it gets repetitive. **

**Chapter 7**

9 Across

The sun was peaking through the drapes, when a particular redhead cracked open violet eyes, a frown marring his features at being woken up so early. He felt a slight movement at his side, and he turned his attention towards it, only to find a pair of groggy crimson eyes to meet his own.

"Good morning," came the low mumble, crimson eyes hiding again behind porcelain eyelids.

"~Good morning, lovely,~" the redhead replied back, using his arm to pull the body beside him closer, nuzzling his nose into soft hair, pressing a kiss to it in the process.

"~Why didn't they shut the curtains? I think it should be against the law to be up this early on a day off.~"

Robert was so cute when he was annoyed, it made the Scot smile to himself as he grasped an angular chin, pulling pouting lips up to meet his own in a proper good morning kiss. It was slow and soft, meant to signify more than lust or want, but simply the pure happiness of being together, of being in love.

"It smells like Oliver's already up and cooking this morning," Robert mumbled against the pair of lips ghosting his own, "do you think he made coffee?"

Johnny smiled in response, running a hand through his boyfriend's tussled locks. "Most likely not, he doesn't like that stuff remember? We could probably borrow his car and go get some from the café up the street."

"Mmm, that'd be nice. You should go ask him."

The Scot laughed before leaning down for another kiss, letting it linger before sitting up. "Go take your shower and get cleaned up while I go talk to him."

"Do I have to get up right now?"

"Yes. Get moving or I'll move you myself."

Robert made a face that suggested he wasn't sure whether or not he actually wanted Johnny to tote him around. He nonetheless sat up and stretched, making the Scot feel a little too warm, and thus left his boyfriend to gather his bathing things.

"Hey Oliver," Johnny called out as he wandered in to the massive kitchen, the greenette busy scrambling what appeared to be eggs.

"Good morning Johnny, I didn't expect to see you up this early," Oliver shot his friend a bright smile before turning his attention back to the egg mixture. He added some chopped greens to the mix before stirring again.

"Sun came through the drapes; woke Robbie up too," Johnny shrugged at Oliver's questioning glance, "anyway, we were wondering if we could borrow one of your cars to go down to the little café and grab some coffee."

"Of course you can! Will you be back in time for breakfast? It should be ready in about an hour."

"I'd say so, I sent him upstairs to get ready. The café isn't too far, and I figured we'd drink a cup there and then take some for the road. Do you think I should bring extra back?"

Oliver turned around and leaned against the counter, seemingly pondering the suggestion for a moment before replying, "Yes, I think that would be a good idea. I know Kai likes coffee, but I don't know about anyone else aside from you and Robbie. I'll give you the money for it if you'd like."

"Nah, I've got it covered. I'll see if they sell any of it in those boxes dispensers, if not we'll get multiple cups. And we'll bring back some creamer too."

"Alright, well you two have fun and don't do anything inappropriate in my car. Keys are in the garage hanging up. I'd suggest the Mercedes, it has a sunroof that's perfect for the morning weather today."

The Scot nodded and called a quick thanks over his shoulder as he headed towards his duffel bag. He figured he'd take a super fast shower once Robert got out, then the two could be off to enjoy a little alone time together. And he could get a newspaper while they were out! French was little hard for him to read, but he could do it; may have to ask how to spell some of the answers though, but hey, that's what having a bilingual genius as your boyfriend is for.

He looked up from his bag just in time to see his German love walk back in to the room, his hair still tussled from the towel, a small droplet of water weaving its way down the side of his face. The redhead watched as Robert idly wiped it away with his long sleeved shirt (it was a dark blue thermal), and noticed how those jeans hugged the man's thighs and butt perfectly. Johnny decided he needed to take a cold shower. Very cold.

"Well?" Robert asked, tucking his things back into his own bag before sliding his wallet into his back pocket.

"Oliver suggested the Mercedes, I'm just going to catch a quick shower and we'll be ready to head out. We need to get coffee for the others while we're out, one of those box things you see companies get."

The German nodded and drew close to his boyfriend, teasing him into a heated kiss, his tongue slipping past partially parted lips to play with its counterpart. Hands grasped shoulders, while another set used jean covered hips to draw the shorter man closer, tilting his head just slightly, deepening the kiss. The pair broke apart for air, light kisses placed on soon to be swollen lips. With a smile the Scot moved towards the bathroom, leaving the amethyst haired man to wait patiently until he returned.

The drive to the café was beautiful, full of lush greenery and sunshine. Not many people were out on the road, and the cool breeze that drifted through the sunroof was refreshing and rejuvenating. Johnny's hand had found Robert's shortly after beginning their drive; his thumb ran over the knuckles of his companion's own hand, occasionally getting a squeeze in response.

It didn't take very long to get to the café, and the pair had enjoyed a companionable silence, both enjoying the morning air and scenery, along with the quiet time together. They parked the car on the street, noting how the café was relatively empty (surprising for as early as it was, they thought people would be on their way to work).

"What do you want?" Johnny asked with an indulgent smile. He watched as the brief flicker of an argument crossed Robert's features before disappearing. It was probably because the German had figured out that his redheaded companion intended to pay.

"I'd like the white mocha, with a pump of vanilla, in whatever they call their large size. Oh, and extra whipped cream."

The Scot smiled at him sweetly, before wandering off to the counter where he snagged a newspaper and began to order. For himself he got a plain mocha, with an extra shot of espresso, and the newspaper; followed by Robert's outrageously sweet concoction and the request for one of their boxes of coffee (it has a dispenser at the bottom!) to be ready when they left. He quickly paid before Robert could react. Instead he waved the German off to go find a nice seat outside, and joined him shortly after he picked up their coffee.

They sat at a nice little table in the sun; Johnny took the crossword puzzle out of the newspaper and handed the rest over for Robert, knowing his friend actually enjoyed reading the paper (the Scot never really bothered, he just liked the crosswords). He dug his pen out of his pocket and began skimming clues.

"Guess whose stocks are up," Robert asked with a smug smile.

"I'm going to assume from that shit eating grin that Jurgen Enterprises went up again?"

The German nodded, replying, "The committee didn't think that my latest idea would take off. They'll be eating their words now won't they?"

"That reverse launcher was a great idea; you just need to fire the old coots anyway. They don't really do much unless you are out on vacation, and that's hardly ever." The redhead scribbled an answer down, followed shortly by another one.

"Well, I may be inclined to taking more vacations now, as there seems to have been a change in my personal life." The German cast a flirty wink before flipping the page of the business section, seemingly engrossed by whatever nonsense they were writing about today.

The Scot, never taking his eyes off his paper, picked up his boyfriend's free hand, kissed the back of it, before giving it a squeeze and allowing it to return to the coffee cup nearby. "I'm going to have to tell my mom and dad that I'll be spending more time in Germany. Oh, hey, non-stick absorbent padding used for wounds, five letters?"

"Telfa. What about the horse training? I thought your dad was slowly easing out of it."

Johnny wrote the answer down quickly before finishing the others to complete the section. "If he complains I'll just fly out some of them to your stables. Assuming you don't mind."

"I wouldn't mind having them around. It'd be a nice change of pace, getting to spend time with you and some of your monsters." The page was flipped, and a drink taken from the harmless coffee cup.

"They're not monsters, they're just really tall. And heavy. It's not my fault you don't raise draft horses. You like you're nice, stubborn steeple chase racers; they're too high maintenance."

"No they aren't, you just don't like them because they actually have a mind of their own. And I like your father's draft horse Leviathan perfectly well; he's absolutely fantastic and has sired many fine horses to this day. And what would I do if I raised draft horses? Short of selling them they wouldn't get put to much use out here, and even if they were used it would only be a few times a year in parades."

The Scot shrugged in response, "We'll see how you feel after a few of them linger in your barn. You may change your mind and beg me for one."

"Jurgen's do not beg."

"Oh, I imagine I'll have you begging soon enough," he cast a lecherous smile to his love, watching as a crimson blush spread across his features. "You look so fucking hot when you blush like that." The blush intensified, and the German hid himself behind the pages of the newspaper.

Johnny allowed the man a few moments to regain his composure; he forgets sometimes that Robert isn't used to compliments about his looks, normally it's always about his skills as a blader or his abilities as the head of Jurgen Enterprises, because in all honestly, the German is a fantastic businessman.

The barista stepped outside, catching Johnny's attention. He turned towards he in acknowledgement, setting the pen down.

"You're to go order is ready at the counter whenever you need it."

"Thanks," he replied, "we'll be in shortly."

The woman nodded before disappearing back into the building. Robert folded the section of the paper before adding it to the pile, waiting patiently for Johnny to finish his last few thoughts in regards to the crossword puzzle. He took a moment to memorize the strong fingers and the way the encased the pen, moving it fluidly across the paper. Muscles flexed as the entire arm moved to place the hand on a different part of the paper; the way the Scot's mouth turned down slightly in concentration, and the way he flicked the pen idly as he thought the question over, were all abnormally attractive the German. How could something so mundane as working a crossword puzzle become so ridiculously attractive? Especially when the sunlight catches violet eyes, and gleams off of the metal piercings scattered about those fine features.

"9 across: numbing, astounding, dumbfounding. Eight letters, and then we'll leave."

Robert gazed at his boyfriend in wonder. "Stunning."

"What?" Johnny asked, catching the crimson gaze as his companion stared at him in awe (and possibly worship, he wasn't one hundred percent on the last one).

"The answer. It's stunning." The German looked away, blushing again. He picked up his coffee and the folded newspaper, standing up so he could scoot the chair back in. His companion scribbled the answer before slipping the pen back into his pocket.

Johnny handed the crossword over to the amethyst haired man, letting his fingers brush against the delicate ones grasping the inked pages. He unlocked the car before heading in, coffee in hand, to pick up the box of coffee to take home to the masses. Hopefully those bums would be up by now.

He returned to the car, sliding the box of coffee into the floorboard of the back seat, before climbing into the driver's seat, smiling to himself when Robert subconsciously reached out to take the Scot's coffee cup from him and put it in the cup holder. Leaning over the divider, the redhead kissed his love on the cheek before rose petal lips turned to return the favor, massaging the ones against them slowly. When they parted, they both shared a loving smile before Johnny kidnapped his boyfriend's hand, lacing their fingers together as he pulled out of the spot and began heading back the way they came.

Not too bad, for an unofficial first date, that is.


	8. 2 Down

"Crossword" by thebirdgod

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or the characters within. I also do not own the Courier Journal, where most, if not all, crossword questions come from.

Notes: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the story so far! And a big thanks for taking the time to just read it! This chapter is a little shorter, and more for the laughter it causes than anything actually contributing to the plot. It's the celebratory chapter for my having just officially graduating from college, so enjoy the silliness as it ensues, and expect another (and more serious chapter) on the way!

Pairings: JohnnyxRobert, MiguelxKai, OliverxEnrique, SpencerxBryan, TalaxClaude

"~_~" is conversation in Gaelic

**Chapter 8**

2 Down

At some point, everyone had fallen into a peaceful slumber in the living room, with Robert leading the charge. And so, that meant that everyone would, at one point or another, wake up in the living room the following morning cuddled up with their significant other.

Unfortunately, they were all about to wake up at the same time, all because of an unintentional moment from the Russian prankster, Ian.

"WAAAAAHHHHHH! GET IT AWAY!" Was the piercing (and distinctly unmanly) wail that echoed through the hallway and into the living room, causing several the unwanted wake up call. In fact, the wail caused several things to happen almost simultaneously.

Spencer and Bryan snapped awake immediately, sitting up quickly only to find themselves tangled up in their blanket and each other. They began trying to disengage from both as fast as they could, though in the end they only succeeded in getting more tangled up than before.

Kai jolted and began wiggling away from the firm embrace of his boyfriend Miguel, who in turn only tightened his grip as he continued to sleep. An elbow to the ribs was an incentive for the Spaniard to begin his decent from dreamland.

Johnny and Robert woke up, looking at each other in confusion before watching their companions make fools of themselves as they tried to get free and rescue Ian from….whatever it was he was screaming about. They sat up, and then stood, their blanket sliding off of them with ease (they sleep like the dead, unconscious and unmoving). Robert's fingers still lightly held his pillow, letting it dangle precariously from their tips. Taking a moment to ignore the ruckus unfolding around them, Johnny turned and claimed a sleepy, sloppy good morning kiss from his boyfriend, who was apparently much more awake than the red head (not like that's a surprise, he has a 4 a.m. wake up call 6 days a week).

Spencer had, after much wiggling and squirming, finally freed his left foot from the deathtrap blanket, and Bryan had managed to detangle himself from his own pants, which had been twisted around his waist and legs several times (apparently they sleep like clowns on crack, odd poses and speed wiggling). It only served to remind him why he slept naked in the privacy of his own room. They were all ready to go on the hunt, but there was no point in them running off to find the youngest Blitz boy, because he came running (or fleeing) for his life, launching himself into Spencer's arms.

"SAAAAVVVE MMMEEE!" he wailed, clutching the blonde.

"From what, exactly?" Johnny grumbled, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. He was none too pleased about being woken up from a peaceful sleep with his gorgeous boyfriend, by the crazy wailings of a prepubescent boy.

Beside him Robert stiffened, eyes glued to the back of Ian's head; as much as he had wanted to start a good morning make out session with his Scot, there were some things in life that the purple haired man had to stop everything for, and this, was definitely one of them. Slender fingers adjusted their grip on the pillow, and the German very cautiously began to inch his way towards the group of Russians. It wasn't hard to be stealthy; Bryan's eyes were glued to his lover and the quivering form of their teammate, which was also where Spencer was looking as he tried to make sense of Ian's blubbering.

Off to the side, Oliver and Enrique were muttering to one another about children, and why they were glad they didn't have any (which is probably good for everyone, because sure, they'd be cute kids, but think of the combination of personalities). Kai flopped back down next to his disgruntled boyfriend, his hand on Miguel's arm as he mumbled apologies for elbowing him, and that he'd make it up to him now that Bryan and Spencer appeared to have the situation under control. That is until Kai noticed a certain purple haired noble stalking closer to young Ian. From his position, the Japanese-Russian man couldn't really tell what the German was stalking towards, and if his knowledge served him right, Robert wasn't exactly the kind of guy to start a pillow fight (unless retaliation was involved), and he certainly wouldn't do it when something was obviously distressing someone as young, and meek as Ian. Well, maybe just as young as Ian.

There was a flurry of movement at that moment; Robert slammed the pillow into the back of Ian's head, before jumping and making a very undignified noise as the object on Ian's head began scurrying around on the ground near where it fell. Ian wailed again, Bryan hurled a shoe (and missed…), Kai jumped onto the coffee table whilst Miguel jumped onto the couch. Spencer slurred obscenities as another shoe whizzed by (with another astounding miss).

And Jonathan McGregor took his lovely, large, bare foot and went squish.

Sitting around the breakfast table (Johnny having procured the local newspaper from the front porch) shortly after the living room fiasco had been solved and all occupants had regained their composure, everyone seemed relatively satisfied not to talk about the incident all together.

Well, mostly everyone.

Scribble, scribble, "You all freaked out over a spider." Johnny stated, then asked, "Cellar prefix?"

"Ocno," Robert replied over his coffee, "and it wasn't a spider, it was a mutant tarantula."

Johnny stopped writing in the answer to give his lover a flat look that could only be read as an 'I can't believe you' look. "Mutant tarantula," he muttered, shaking his head.

Ian nodded vigorously, "It wanted my blood! And it would've succeeded if Robert hadn't way-laid it with his pillow!"

"Didn't hit it very hard, bastard was still moving," Bryan goaded.

"Coming from the Abbey-trained soldier who threw two shoes and missed both times?" Robert replied as he unfolded the business section of the paper. The Russian felt the decency to blush at that statement.

"~Bunch of pansies,~" Johnny mumbled under his breath, to which he received, what he deemed, the scariest look from his boyfriend ever imaginable. "~Not you,~" he quickly grumbled on, unnerved, "~at least you hit it before squealing.~"

At that point, Robert decided to drop the topic, as indeed, he HAD hit the little bugger, and then turned on his 'I'm a little girl' button and squealed at the top of his lungs when the creature started moving.

"What are you all talking about?" Aaron asked as he entered the kitchen, hesitating to take a seat.

"Nothin'," Johnny replied, scribbling in another answer. His statement effectively saying that what happened in the living room was staying between those present for it.

"I don't believe that," came Tala's voice as he appeared with Claude from behind Aaron, "we hear distinct squealing from Ian."

"I shoved him down the stairs," Robert stated without missing a beat, his face dead serious, "viciously, I might add."

Tala blinked, "Then why was he yelling "Get it away"?"

"I used him as a surf board to get to the bottom." His facial expression never changed.

Across the table, Kai and Miguel sat wide eyed, staring at the German. How was he making this crap up and not smirking? Remind them never to play poker against him.

"I saw the whole thing," Spencer said, joining in, "I was too surprised to do anything until they hit the bottom and Robert dismounted like an Olympic gymnast."

In response, Robert shot his arms up into the air in mock gymnast pose. It was so good, it was scary.

"Knew we should've stayed downstairs," Claude mumbled.

Ian nodded emphatically, "Bryan says the only reason I'm in one piece is because I'm young and Robert's lighter than Kai."

Kai spat out his orange juice and put a hand to his head. That does sound like something Bryan would say (and hey, we can't make it through a story without making fun of Kai being skinny).

"How would you know how much I weight?" Robert asked suspiciously from his end of the table. Eerie silence followed.

"Comic strip character with an eye patch?"

Everyone turned their attention away from Robert and Bryan to the Scot.

"Bazooka Joe," the German replied, sliding the butter nice off the table slowly and into his lap, never taking his eyes off of Bryan.

Said Russian made an audible gulp and scooted closer to Spencer.

Tala shook his head, then asked, "So you mean to tell me that all the commotion this morning was from Robert using Ian as a surf board down the stairs while pretending to be an Olympic gymnast?"

"Yes, now shut up and sit down." Kai stated. If this carried on any longer, someone was bound to blow it, which would be a shame, as the look on Tala's face was just too good to ruin.

"Play with white fowl?"

"Swan Lake."

"Oh, okay, as in the one where you played Odette?"

"Yes, that's the one. Odd way to phrase the question though; French crosswords are weird."

"Kind of goes with the people." The Scot replied with a smirk before dodging a sizzling piece of bacon (maybe Oliver should've been the one throwing shoes).

"I knew you danced," Claude began, "based on what you said the other days; but I didn't realize you actually went out and performed."

"Mm, the original Odette and her understudy came down with food poisoning. As the choreographer is a good friend of mine, they simply asked if I would fill in since I'm quite familiar with the part. It wasn't that big of a deal."

"He was fucking awesome," Johnny stated, "and he looked fucking amazing too."

Robert blushed a little before replying, "That's because you have a weird fetish involving me and women's clothing."

"You'd look great in lace panties."


End file.
